Automatic guide for cloth winding and shearing machines.



AUTOMATIC GUIDE FOR CLOTH WlNDlNG AND SHEARING MACHlNES.

- APPLICATION FILED 06128, 1911. 1,179,366.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

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THE COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH CO., WASHINGTON, D- C.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIG,

FRED C. WOOD, OF SPRINGFIELD, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR T PARKS & WOOLSONMACHINE COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, VERMONT, A CORPORATION OF VERMONT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

Application filed October 28, 1.911. Serial No. 657,275.

zen of the United States, and resident of Springfield, Vermont, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Guides forCloth Winding and Shearing Machines, of which the following is aspecification. V

This invention relates to machines for shearing cloth and isparticularly intended to provide a simple and effective means fortakinoup slack or fullness in the edge of the cloth before it passes to thecloth rest which forms a support for presenting the cloth to a shear.

As is well-known by those skilled in the art, the edge portions ofthecloth passing through the shear often become cockly, that is, manifest atendency to bunch or wrinkle, which is likely to result in cutting anddamaging this part of the cloth. This fullness or wrinkling also tendsto make the cloth miss its intended operative contact with the feelercatches which automatically control the extensible portions of the clothrest. The present invention is intended to overcome these adverseconditions by providing automatic means for taking up the slack orfullness at the edge portion of the cloth before it passes over thefeeler catch and the cloth rest, in order to insure its operativeengagement with the feeler catch and prevent the cloth edge fromwrinkling as it passes over the cloth rest.

The invention consists primarily in oppositely acting tension members orguides for engaging the opposite faces of the cloth at each side edgeadjacent to the cloth rest. The take-up members or guides may also beconstructed to perform the function of guiding the edge of the clothoutwardly as well as to remove wrinkles or fullness from the edge. Theyalso assist in the case of an extensible cloth rest, of the properengagement of the cloth with the feeler catches, by which the rest isshortened or lengthened.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a preferred form of theinvention applied to an extensible cloth rest of the general type shownin United States Letters Patent No. 630,969, in which Figure 1 is a planview showing a portion of the cloth rest apparatus and the take-upguides adjacent thereto; Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing the relativearrangement ofthe guides to the cloth rest mechanism; Fig. 3 is a detailplan view showing the supportin bracket and the automatic guides, andFlg. 4 is a detail view in end elevation showing the supported bracketand the automatic guides or take-ups.

In the drawings illustrating this invention, I have shown only so muchof the cloth rest as will be convenient for a complete understanding ofthe operation of my invention. According to common practice, the end ofthe cloth rest is made in sections comprising vertically movable blocksa which are raised into or lowered from operative position by means ofthe longitudinal movement of the slide bar I), which in turn is actuatedby the reciprocating double tooth rack bar 0 which is engaged and movedin either direction by the pivoted latch 11, which latch engages eitherside of the rack bar 0, according to the position of the feeler catchcl, which is serrated or roughenedin order to engage the edge of thecloth and be moved thereby in a manner similar to that described in thepatent above referred to.

The rotary shear e, the ledger blade 6 and the cloth rest a cooperate toperform the shearing operation 1n the usual manner. Often times,however, difficulty is encountered owing to the fact that the edges ofthe cloth approaching the cloth rest and shear are cockly or puckered,so that they present too much fullness in passing over the cloth restand also sometimes fail to properly engage the feeler catches, throughthe agency of which the cloth rest is automatically shortened orlengthened. To overcome this difliculty, I have mounted in advance ofthe feeler catch, in position to engage the edge portion of the cloth onopposite sides, two take-up members or guides f and g, which may be ofany suitable form or construction so long as they operate to remove thefullness by forcing the edge of the cloth in opposite directions as thecloth advances to the cloth rest. As actually shown in the drawings,these take-up devices comprise a pivoted movable finger g mountedbeneath the edges of the cloth and provided with a tension spring 9which tends to lift or move the forward member against the under side ofthe cloth, while the cooperating finger f is arranged somewhat nearerthe cloth rest to depress the edge portion of the cloth by itsengagement with the upper face of the cloth. It is immaterial whetherthe device is actuated by gravity or by springs. In the drawings I haveshown the lower member actuated by a tension spring and the upper lmember by its own gravity. Both members are mounted in a sustainingbracket h, which is secured to a convenient part of the ma.- chine inorder to present them in operative relationship to the edge of thecloth. To further assist the operation, I have shown the cloth engagingfaces of each member provided with diagonal corrugations 9 7, which areinclined so as to tend to guide or stretch the edge of the clothoutwardly.

In Fig. 2, I have illustrated the manner in which the loose or fullportions of the edge of the cloth are taken up by these devices, theactual course of the cloth being indicated in the full line, while thestraight course of the cloth is indicated in dotted lines. The inventionis also applicable to the feeding of the cloth in other types ofmachines beside cloth shears.

What I claim is:

1. In a shearing machine, the combination of the shear, a cloth restcooperating therewith, a pair ofoppositely acting yieldingly mountedtake-up devices arranged to engage opposed faces of the edge portion ofthe cloth passing to the shear in order to keep the edge of the clothtaut when fullness or wrinkles are present, substantially as described.

2. In a shearing machine, the combinationof a shear, of a cloth restcooperating therewith, a pair of oppositely acting movable fingersarranged one in advance of the other adapted to be actuated by means ofthe cloth and engaging respectively the upper and lower faces of thecloth adjacent to and in advance of the cloth rest, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a shearing machine, the combination of an extensible cloth rest,the automatic feeler catch arranged to engage the edge portion of thecloth to vary the length of the cloth rest, oppositely'a'cting guidesmovable by the'pressure of the cloth arranged to engage the edge portionof the cloth in advance of the feeler catch to insure the tension of thecloth upon the, feeler catch, substantially as described.

4. In a shearing machine, the combination of an extensible cloth rest,the automatic feeler. catch arranged to engage the edge portion of thecloth to vary the length of the cloth rest, freely pivoted guide membersarranged respectively to engage the opposed faces of the edge portion ofthe cloth in advance of the feeler catch and adjacent thereto,substantially as described.

5. The combination with an extensible cloth rest, a feeler catch bywhich the length of said cloth rest is varied, a pair of adjacentmembers movable transversely to the plane of the cloth one of whichtends to engage the under side of the cloth to lift it from its normalposition the other being arranged to engage the upper face of the clothto depress it, substantially as described.

6. The combination with the extensible cloth rest and a feeler catch bywhich the length of said cloth rest is varied, a pair of oppositelyacting adjacent members arranged torespectively press against the underand the upper races of the cloth with ayielding pressure, said membersbeing provided with inclined corrugations for guiding the edge of thecloth outwardly, substan tially as described.

7. In an attachment for cloth rest mech anism embracing a bracket, twoadjacent oppositely disposed fingers freely pivoted thereon one of saidfingers tending normally to press upward and the other fingertendingnormally to press downward to engage opposite sides of the cloth,substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification. FRED C.WOOD. In the presence of ANNA BEATRICE BURKE, BLANCHE L. NORTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

